


Maighdeann-ròin

by LucastaPastatheShamanRamen



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: F/F, I'll add other characters as they appear, Jaina tells a story, btw Caitlin is Irish equivalent of Katherine, courtesy of many lifetime viewings of Gargoyles: the Series, from my bastardized knowledge of celtic mythology, selkie!Jaina au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 11:58:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18365555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucastaPastatheShamanRamen/pseuds/LucastaPastatheShamanRamen
Summary: Jaina was old, ancient by the reckoning of some. Her face was gently lined, her hair all but faded from gold to grey, her body was still strong but the cold of the northern seas set an ache in her bones atimes. She could remember a time before man had mastered the shaping of iron and learned the aes sidhe were weak to its presence and touch. She could remember a time before men had learned to desecrate sacred barrows and seal sacred caves to prevent wandering aes sidhe from returning to Tir na nog. She remembered a time when the aes sidhe had been free.





	Maighdeann-ròin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katofthenorth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katofthenorth/gifts).



Maighdeann-ròi n

* * *

 

Jaina  was old, ancient by the reckoning of some. Her face was gently lined, her hair all but faded from gold to grey, her body was still strong but the cold of the northern seas set an ache in her bones  atimes . She could remember a time before man had mastered the shaping of iron and learned the  _ aes _ __ _ sidhe _  were weak to its presence and touch. She could remember a time before men had learned to desecrate sacred barrows and seal sacred caves to prevent wandering  _ aes _ __ _ sidhe _  from returning to  _ Tir _ __ _ na _ __ _ nog _ . She remembered a time when the  _ aes _ __ _ sidhe _  had been free.

It didn’t do to dwell on those times, not too often, for it set one’s heart to aching and a fierce yearning for what could never again be. Besides, it’s not as if no good came from it. Life had gone differently than expected, true, but she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t had a grand old time of it.

“ _ Maimeó _ !  _ Maimeó _ !” cried several children of varying ages as they raced down the beach to worn boulder she had claimed as her seat.  _ Grandmother _ , that was a title to be proud of. She smiled fondly at the gaggle of gremlins. Children from the nearby village, from toddling tots in play clothes to those near grown and wearing their school uniforms, always came down to the sea this time of year, the time of year she came to shore to share her stories, to see how the children were growing up, to comfort those who needed comfort, to guide those who needed guidance. 

Every native of the village knew who and what she was, but to any outsider who happened to be staying in the village this particular full moon of the year was kept inside the village pub and kept happily drunk until dawn broke again and the beautiful woman with grey hair and a gently creased face was long gone back into the sea. It was a somber morning, following a joyful night; for  e’ry  year a solitary raven perched upon the boulder and stared forlornly into the waves. 

“Tell us the story!” The children begged. There was no squabbling about which story they wanted to hear, because while  _ Maimeó _  had many stories, nearly all of them had been passed down from generation to generation. All but one. That story was for her to tell and her alone.  She would begin it early in the afternoon and finish it late in the evening. She told this story every year, and it always began like this;

“Once upon a time, in the seas off the coast of  Tir na Nog , there lived a beautiful seal maiden. Her name was Caitlin. As a woman she was tall and fair, with hair like spun gold, though it eventually all turned grey,” she always whispered conspiratorially, putting her finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, “and as a seal she was a beautiful dappled grey, plump and sleek all at the same time. She was the best fisher in all of  Tir na Nog . She was regarded well by all the other seal maidens and seal men alike; she always led the way to the mortal world when her folk felt wanderlust come upon them. 

You see, children, it’s the fate of all the  _ aes _ __ _ sidhe _  to desire to wander the realm of man. Only the gods, the  _ Tuatha de  _ _ Dannan _ _ ,  _ could live there all the time. The rest of us are merely guests in their kingdom. “

“Was she sad when she had to leave?” asked a young girl, the youngest of the whole group, named Tierney. She was one of a few of the group who had eyes a little larger and softer than their peers, and slight points on the tips of their ears.  Jaina  smiled and pulled the small girl into her lap, holding her tight to her chest in a fierce hug.

“Never you fret,  dearheart . Caitlin loved adventure and guiding her people, and she was very good at it. Even when her people left the sea to walk amongst humans, she alone of the seal folk never had her pelt stolen, that’s how good she was at hiding it.” This part always impressed the younger children, they fancied themselves masters at hide and seek (though in some cases that was highly debatable, not that  Jaina  would ever say so), but even the best of them had been found a time or two. Caitlin’s skill and cleverness were legendary, and would remain so as long as  Jaina  drew breath to say anything about it. 

“Many of the seal folk weren’t so fortunate. Their pelts were found time and again, many were taken as wife or husband by a lucky villager who had happened upon the pelts’ hiding places. Without their pelts, the seal folk couldn’t return to the sea, they were trapped on land as humans, sometimes for the rest of their lives, which became much shorter if they had to stay on land,”  Jaina  continued solemnly, “Any of the seal folk who couldn’t return to the sea couldn’t return to  Tir na Nog , you see, the land of eternal youth, so they grew old and died as their human mates did.

“Some fell in love with their human captors while others didn’t, and some had children while others didn’t. It was always a bittersweet thing for one of the seal  folk  to have a child with a human, most of their children never grew pelts of their own and could never experience the joy of belonging in the sea.

“Every once in a rare while, though, a seal maiden or seal man would find their pelt, or have it returned to them by a good Samaritan, and have the choice of returning to the sea or staying on land with their husbands, wives, and children. Some went home, some stayed and made the land their new homes, but all felt longing for what they had left behind. 

“All but Caitlin, who was clever and brave. There was an old octopus that lived just off the shore, you see, with arms longer than any of you are tall by far. She was a fierce and crafty creature. Sometimes humans would go out in their small wooden boats armed with spears to hunt her, but no man who found her lair came back alive. Well Caitlin would bring her cuttlefish, her favorite treat, and then leave her pelt with the octopus and swim the rest of the way to shore as a human woman. When she was ready to return to the  sea  she would sing a special song and octopus would bring her  her  pelt, and they’d swim back to sea together. They had become good friends over the years, and stayed that way until the end of their days.”

“Were they in love?” asked one of the older lads, Keelan, if memory served. It was funny how her story never changed, but from the myriad questions these youngsters came up with, she never told the same tale twice. 

“Well now, I never thought to ask. I suppose they could have been.”  Jaina  nodded thoughtfully. 

“ Of course  they were, dummy,” Quinn interjected, “the octopus died of grief the year Caitlin never came back to sing her song.  _ I _  wouldn’t die of grief for just anyone.”

“Not all love between two grown-ups is romantic, Quinn. Now, please, apologize to Keelan. “  Jaina  admonished, gently but firmly. “You must not criticize one of your peers for asking questions, even if the answer seems obvious to learn. Never make someone feel poorly about themselves for wanting to learn.” Quinn had the decency to look properly admonished and mumbled an apology. 

Jaina  waited for the children to settle themselves before continuing, “There was only one thing Caitlin had ever truly wanted that she’d never had. A little girl of her own. But she had no desire to be married,” well, that wasn’t exactly how relationships and pair-bonding worked in seal folk society, but these children had no need to know the intricacies of selkie courtship, “But let this be a lesson to you all. If you want something enough, and you’re dedicated to working hard for it, just about anything is possible. The same was true for Caitlin, for she did eventually give birth to a squirmy little pup of a seal maiden. And do you know what she named her daughter?” the old woman smiled broadly at the looks of excitement across the faces of all the children gathered before her; every young voice cried out together.

“Jaina!”

**Author's Note:**

> Here begins the tale! I'll try to be consistent about updating this fic with my other WIPs :)


End file.
